“If you cannot bring your sample to the measurement, bring the measurement to your process!”

The VASCO Flex innovative approach

VASCO FlexTM is a unique and fully agile nano-particle size analyzer based on DLS measurement.

The heart of the VASCO Flex system is the Optical Fiber Remote Head (OFRH). The OFRH integrates into the same case both the sample illumination optical system and the scattered light collector. The illumination and the collector systems are made of two optimized optical collimators, one used as condenser and the other as a focuser. The OFRH is linked to a central unit with an optical fiber patch cord which integrates two single mode fibers: one Polarization Maintaining fiber used for the laser beam and one standard single mode fiber used to collect the scattered light from the sample to be characterized.

The central unit includes a single photon detector (APD or PM), a powerful data processing linear correlator, an external temperature sensor that can be attached to the OFRH, and a highly reliable fiber pigtailed laser diode source with its electrical driver. A PWM temperature controller for Pelletier elements can also be integrated into the central unit for an accurate sample temperature control.

The central unit also integrates an alignment laser diode and an optical switch which allows to couple the alignment laser automatically into the signal fiber in order to image the coherence area into the sample cell or reactor and to facilitate installation.

Advantages and Benefits of VASCO Flex

Compact and robust:

The VASCO Flex has been designed to be easily integrated into various environments, accounting for user’s constraints. Using optical fibers and telecom based technologies, VASCO Flex is a cost effective, robust and compact solution for process monitoring (maintenance free); The use of single mode optical fiber naturally acts as a spatial filter that saves space and cost of additional parts like those needed in conventional DLS system. Also light propagation in an optical fiber is much more robust and immune to stray light and external perturbation than free space optical layout

Agility :

Its working distance (distance between the OFRH and the measurement area) can be easily tuned from 4 cm up to 40 cm, allowing non contact and in situ measurements, ie, without tedious batch sampling (time and cost saving). Also, the fiber patch cord length can be specified to any length between 1 to 20 m; this is a real advantage for remote operation in difficult environments: the Optical remote head can easily be placed in a vacuum chamber or inside a glove box.

Easy to implement:

With its alignment laser, the OFRH can be implemented and adjusted very easily, even for a non experienced user. OFRH can also be mounted on XYZ translation stages for fine positioning of the probe.

Versatility:

thanks to its design the VASCO flex can accommodate various measurement configurations: in situ measurement inside a reactor through a glass window, in a standard disposable square cuvette, in cylindrical glass capillaries with diameter as low as 1 mm, in a sample drop, etc.

Highly reliable Data analysis:

The VASCO flex system is powered by the NanoQ 2.0 software with its unique Pade Laplace inversion algorithm; combined with multiple acquisition capability and measurement replay, this makes VASCO flex an ideal tool for size kinetics monitoring.